Stewed lentils with sun-dried tomatoes

SERVES 4

“Lentils are so often my saviour for an impromptu dinner,” says Del Conte. “I always keep some canned lentils on hand; sometimes they are Puy, sometimes Castelluccio (from Italy and just as good as Puy, but they are more difficult to find), and sometimes just common or garden green lentils. Tomatoes are frequently cooked with lentils. In this recipe sun-dried tomatoes are used to give a stronger flavour. To make a vegetarian version, eliminate the pancetta and increase the amount of oil to 100ml.” 350 gm small dried lentils 60 ml (1/4 cup) olive oil 75 gm diced mild pancetta 2 banana shallots or large golden shallots, very thinly sliced 12 sage leaves, torn 150 gm sun-dried tomatoes 1 litre (4 cups) hot vegetable stock

1 Put the lentils in a sieve and rinse under running water. Set aside while you prepare the soffritto.

2 Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, add pancetta and stir for

2-3 minutes until pancetta is golden and crisp. Add shallot and sage and cook, stirring often, for 5-7 minutes. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and continue to cook for a further 2-3 minutes.

3 Add lentils, and let them cook in soffritto for 2-3 minutes, while you stir them around. Pour in hot stock and season with salt to taste. Cook until lentils are tender – this will take about 20-30 minutes for Castelluccio and Puy varieties and a little longer for common or garden green lentils. Season to taste and serve hot.